美国国家公共电台 NPR--Election denialism has evolved into a sprawling nationwide force that's gone local

Election denialism has evolved into a sprawling¹ nationwide force that's gone local

Transcript²

Election deniers are spreading false narratives³ that there was rampant⁴ fraud in the 2020 election. NPR tracked four men who appeared at more than 300 events in 45 states and Washington, D.C.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

All right. For weeks now, we've been hearing from the January 6 committee about the efforts to subvert⁵ democracy using false claims of fraud in the 2020 election.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

A new NPR investigation⁶ that's out today explores how election denialism has evolved into a sprawling, nationwide movement.

MART?NEZ: NPR voting correspondent Miles Parks is here to discuss the new findings. So what'd you find, Miles?

MILES PARKS, BYLINE⁷: So we found a real shift, A. For most of 2020, misinformation about elections was really headquartered in Donald Trump⁸'s Twitter account. But now the baton⁹ has sort of been passed to this core group of what you might call election denial influencers. These are people who've spent the last 18 months building large followings, claiming things like they found formulas that show how the 2020 election was rigged and things like that. Of course, these sorts of claims have all been debunked¹⁰ many times by paper ballot¹¹ hand counts, by audits¹², even by former President Donald Trump's own attorney general, Bill Barr. But still, these voter fraud evangelists have spent the last year and a half meeting with groups of concerned citizens in backyards, in hotel conference rooms, in car dealerships, all across the country spreading the gospel of voter fraud.

MART?NEZ: All right. So tell us about these people and where they've gone.

PARKS: They've really been everywhere. Our investigations¹³ team tracked them using social media data and local news reports to map this out. And we found a core group that appeared at more than 300 events across the country traveling to almost every single state. Here's sound of one of them, Seth Keshel.

SETH KESHEL: Now I will say this - I went to 46 states in 2021, most of them beginning in June when my Telegram channel took off. Somebody named Donald J. Trump put me out a few times and then things changed in my life.

PARKS: NPR also tracked MyPillow founder¹⁴ Mike Lindell, as well as two other election denial influencers named Douglas Frank and David Clements. Now, this would be one thing if these were just events to just keep the lie alive that Donald Trump won the 2020 election. But they're not. These events often end with actionable items, things like telling people to go knock on doors in their neighborhoods to find election fraud. An NPR editor attended one meeting with David Clements, where he told the audience to go to the offices of their county commissioners¹⁵. They respond to fear, he told them.

MART?NEZ: Wow, respond to fear. Now, you also have found throughout their travels they met with a number of lawmakers. Tell us about that.

PARKS: Yeah. So we found that over this time, these 18 months, they met or appeared with at least 78 lawmakers at the federal, state and local level. Many of these people will have a role in how future elections are run and even certified¹⁶. Some of these lawmakers were already sympathetic to these sorts of claims, but others were skeptical¹⁷. It's clear that part of this strategy is to get an audience with people who decide how voting works. These people also met or appeared with more than 100 candidates who are running for election at some level of government this year.

It's worth noting, A, that this reporting really confirms what we've been seeing on the ground for the last two years, that this fervor¹⁸ about fraud in this portion of the right is not going away as we head into midterms, you know. And as I talked to local election officials, they're really struggling with how to counter. And I talked to the secretary of state of Michigan, for instance, who said that each time there's an election denial event in Michigan, her office receives an uptick in threats and harassment¹⁹.

MART?NEZ: That's NPR's Miles Parks. You can hear more on this investigation tonight on All Things Considered. Miles, thanks a lot.

PARKS: Thank you.

1 sprawling   

adj.蔓生的，不规则地伸展的v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的现在分词 )；蔓延；杂乱无序地拓展；四肢伸展坐着（或躺着）

参考例句：

• He was sprawling in an armchair in front of the TV. 他伸开手脚坐在电视机前的一张扶手椅上。
• a modern sprawling town 一座杂乱无序拓展的现代城镇

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 narratives   

记叙文( narrative的名词复数 )； 故事； 叙述； 叙述部分

参考例句：

• Marriage, which has been the bourne of so many narratives, is still a great beginning. 结婚一向是许多小说的终点，然而也是一个伟大的开始。
• This is one of the narratives that children are fond of. 这是孩子们喜欢的故事之一。

4 rampant   

adj.(植物)蔓生的；狂暴的，无约束的

参考例句：

• Sickness was rampant in the area.该地区疾病蔓延。
• You cannot allow children to rampant through the museum.你不能任由小孩子在博物馆里乱跑。

5 subvert   

v.推翻；暗中破坏；搅乱

参考例句：

• The rebel army is attempting to subvert the government.反叛军队企图颠覆政府统治。
• They tried to subvert our state and our Party. This is the crux of the matter.他们是要颠覆我们的国家，颠覆我们的党，这是问题的实质。

6 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

7 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

8 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

9 baton   

n.乐队用指挥杖

参考例句：

• With the baton the conductor was beating time.乐队指挥用指挥棒打拍子。
• The conductor waved his baton,and the band started up.指挥挥动指挥棒，乐队开始演奏起来。

10 debunked   

v.揭穿真相，暴露( debunk的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• His theories have been debunked by recent research. 最近的研究揭穿了他的理论的真相。
• Some advertising slogans should be debunked. 某些夸大的广告用语应予揭露。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

12 audits   

n.审计，查账( audit的名词复数 )v.审计，查账( audit的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Requires that use of all bond funds is subject to independent audits. 需要使用的所有债券基金是受独立审计。 来自互联网
• Support the locations during customer-visits, audits and quality-improvement programs. 支持客户参观，稽核和提高品质等项目。 来自互联网

13 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

14 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

15 commissioners   

n.专员( commissioner的名词复数 )；长官；委员；政府部门的长官

参考例句：

• The Commissioners of Inland Revenue control British national taxes. 国家税收委员管理英国全国的税收。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The SEC has five commissioners who are appointed by the president. 证券交易委员会有５名委员，是由总统任命的。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

16 certified   

a.经证明合格的；具有证明文件的

参考例句：

• Doctors certified him as insane. 医生证明他精神失常。
• The planes were certified airworthy. 飞机被证明适于航行。

17 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

18 fervor   

n.热诚；热心；炽热

参考例句：

• They were concerned only with their own religious fervor.他们只关心自己的宗教热诚。
• The speech aroused nationalist fervor.这个演讲喚起了民族主义热情。

19 harassment   

n.骚扰，扰乱，烦恼，烦乱

参考例句：

• She often got telephone harassment at night these days.这些天她经常在夜晚受到电话骚扰。
• The company prohibits any form of harassment.公司禁止任何形式的骚扰行为。